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Cyperus giganteus - Vahl

Common Name Piripiri, Mexican Papyrus
Family Cyperaceae
USDA hardiness 9-11
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Tropical moist forest,premontane wet forest and tropical wet forest; often forming extensive and dense colonies in open swamps near the coast in Panama[315 , 368 ].
Range S. America - Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas; C. America - Panama to Mexico; Caribbean
Edibility Rating    (0 of 5)
Other Uses    (3 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (2 of 5)
Care (info)
Tender Wet Soil Water Plants Full sun
Cyperus giganteus Piripiri, Mexican Papyrus


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Cyperus giganteus Piripiri, Mexican Papyrus
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Summary


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of flower
Cyperus giganteus is an evergreen Perennial growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a fast rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers wet soil and can grow in water.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Chlorocyperus giganteus (Vahl) Palla Cyperus berteroi Kunth Cyperus conspicuus Steud. Cyperus densiflorus Rchb. ex Kunth Cyperus elatus Griseb. Cyperus princeps Kunth Papyrus elegans Schrad. ex Nees Papyrus giganteus (Vahl) Schrad. ex Nees Papyrus odoratus Willd. ex Nees Papyrus spectabilis Schrad. ex Nees

Plant Habitats

Edible Uses

None known

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


The rhizome is grated and used in an infusion to treat severe menstrual pains, especially during menstruation, by easing the menstrual flow[348 ].

References   More on Medicinal Uses

The Bookshop: Edible Plant Books

Our Latest books on Perennial Plants For Food Forests and Permaculture Gardens in paperback or digital formats.

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Tropical Plants

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

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Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Temperate Plants

Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

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PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital media.
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PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital formats. Browse the shop for more information.

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Other Uses

Agroforestry Uses: The plant can be grown in water systems as a water purifier in pollution control[991 ]. Other Uses Fibres fron the plant are used for matting and also for making ordinary and high quality translucent paper[991 ]. The fibre is said to be of high quality, similar to linen (Linum usitatissimum) and rami (Boehmeria nivea)[991 ]. The plant is said to deserve an important place in the paper industry[991 ]. Mexican papyurs is a great plant for a background or screening area in the pond. It can also be planted as a single plant in a water feature to add a more tropical look to an area.

Special Uses

Carbon Farming

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Industrial Crop: Biomass  Management: Hay  Regional Crop

This species is mostly aquatic, growing in still or slow running water up to 0.5 m deep.

Carbon Farming

  • Industrial Crop: Biomass  Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
  • Management: Hay  Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
  • Regional Crop  These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

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The PFAF Bookshop

Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).

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Plant Propagation

Seed

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

NORTHERN AMERICA: Mexico (Colima, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave) SOUTHERN AMERICA: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad), United States (Puerto Rico), Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina (north), Paraguay, Uruguay

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

None Known

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : This taxon has not yet been assessed

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Cyperus aristatusBearded nutsedgePerennial1.5 7-10  LMNMWe202
Cyperus articulatusJointed flatsedge, Priprioca, PiripiriPerennial1.8 10-12 FLMHNMWeWa142
Cyperus cephalotesBhada, Flat Sedges, Nut Sedges or Umbrella Sedge.Perennial0.3 10-12 FLMHNWeWa012
Cyperus distansSlender Cyperus, Piedmont flatsedgePerennial0.5 0-0  LMNMWe112
Cyperus esculentusTiger Nut, Yellow nutsedge, Nut GrassPerennial0.9 8-10 FLMHNMWe423
Cyperus fendlerianusFendler's FlatsedgePerennial1.5 -  LMNMWe202
Cyperus longusGalingalePerennial1.2 6-9 FLMHNMWeWa213
Cyperus papyrusPapyrus. Papyrus sedgePerennial5.0 9-12 FLMHNWeWa222
Cyperus rotundusNut GrassPerennial0.6 0-0  LMNMWe332
Cyperus schweinitziiFlatsedge, Schweinitz's flatsedgePerennial0.8 0-0  LMNMWe202
Cyperus setigerusLean flatsedgePerennial1.0 0-0  LMNMWe202
Cyperus tegetiformis Perennial0.0 -  LMNMWe002
Cyperus textilisFlat sedge, Basket grass,Perennial1.5 9-12 FLMHFSNMWeWa004
Cyperus ustulatus Perennial1.2 -  LMNMWe002

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

Vahl

Botanical References

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.

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